Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 98
- Honours
- 88
- Statistics
- 96
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 50 | |
| 1984 | 54 | |
| 1985 | 58 | |
| 1986 | 62 | |
| 1987 | 65 | |
| 1988 | 69 | |
| 1989 | 73 | |
| 1990 | 77 | |
| 1991 | 81 | |
| 1992 | 85 | |
| 1993 | 88 | |
| 1994 | 92 | |
| 1995 | 96 | |
| 1996 | 91 | |
| 1997 | 86 | |
| 1998 | 81 | |
| 1999 | 75 | |
| 2000 | 70 | |
| 2001 | 65 |
Data sources
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Pro Football Reference
- NFL official records
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Bruce Matthews ranks #7 in American Football
Bruce Matthews ranks 7th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 1088th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 92.0 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 92, Longevity 98, Honours 88, Statistics 96. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 340 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1983–2001 with 19 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1995, which sets the Peak component at 92. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 98 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes pro bowls 14, games played 296, seasons played 19, all-pro selections 7.
Immediately ahead sits Otto Graham on 92.0, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Tony Gonzalez on 91.6. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Bruce Matthews GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Matthews stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1995. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity98/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 18 years of competition and 19 recorded seasons. Scored 98/100.
- Honours88/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
- Statistics96/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 96/100.
Top Matthews comparisons
Bruce Matthews — frequently asked
- Is Bruce Matthews the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Bruce Matthews ranks 7th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 92.0, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Bruce Matthews's GOAT Score?
- 92.0 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 98 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 96 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Bruce Matthews rank all time?
- 1088th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 7th within American Football.
- Bruce Matthews vs Otto Graham: who ranks higher?
- Bruce Matthews, on 92.0 against Otto Graham's 92.0 — a margin of 0.0 points.